July 6th, 2023

Despite me not making many friends as a kid, I still had one friend. His name was Victor and he was a joy to be around. He definitely made me laugh more than 100 times and I can't count one time when we actually fought. Despite our differences, he and I always got along.

"Come on, Victor. Don't make me spam call you." I grumbled as I stared into the blank notifications sections. Nothing. I slid my phone away with a sigh and then Jay's voice came from behind me. 

"Whatcha doing?" I whirled around and Jay stood behind me, grinning. 

"Ooh, a secret boyfriend?" The lightning ninja bounced on his toes, "Are you hiding him from Lloyd? Oooh, Lloyd will be madddd if he finds out." Jay sang and I socked him in the side. 

"Will you relax?" I hissed, "That's my friend. His name is Victor. Lloyd knows who he is."

"Awww." Jay deflated, even though a teasing smirk on his face showed up, "No secret boyfriend? That's disappointing, Livvy." His smirk turned into a grin now as his shaggy curls hopped into his eyes and he brushed them away. 

"I'm not ready for a boyfriend yet." I muttered, turning my phone on again, "Argh! Stupid Victor! What are you doing?!" I buried my face in my hands and felt something rise up in me. I pushed down the feeling and started feeling queasy. I ignored the queasiness and then looked over at Jay.

"I think you two would be cute together." Jay crooned.

"Nasty." I stuck out my tongue.

"Cute." Jay insisted. 

"Oh, please shut up before I strangle you, Jay." I growled and Jay backed up with his hands in the air, looking really innocent. 

"Whoa, chill, short stack. Since when did you become so mean?" Jay whined and I stiffened. Was I? I looked over at Jay, my eyes filled with hollow fear. Pure, hollow fear. 

"Was I?" I whispered and Jay quirked an eyebrow up, "Mean?..."

"I was kidding, Liv." Jay frowned, "But that comment really bothered you. Are you alright?" He sat down in front of me and I shook my head. 

"No."

"How can I help?" Jay asked. I shook my head, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. 

"You can't." I started shaking again. I've been doing that a lot lately. "You can't fix anything going on with me."

Jay looked confused, "Livvy…"

"I'm sorry. Just stop, Jay." I looked down on my phone again. Still nothing. Was Victor ignoring me? Despite how busy he was, he always found a way to text me back in the end. "Please."

"Should I get Lloyd? Have you talked to him about what's going on inside of you?" Jay asked gently and I shook my head quickly. 

"No!" I cried out when Jay got up and he froze, turning his head toward me. I hugged myself, "N… no. Please don't get my brother. I'm fine. Really." I tried to smile but my mouth just wouldn't do it. 

"Okay, Livana. Real talk." Jay sat down in front of me and leaned forward, glaring at me intently, "What the heck is going on?"

"Jay Walker, I swear-" I cut myself off with a growl, "Nothing! I'm fine. You can leave me alone now. Now." I finally caught myself then and I bit back cries of pain. I could see my dad in myself whenever I looked in the mirror. I was his daughter. I was the one most similar to him. I was him. 

Jay looked over at me sympathetically and then said, "Would you rather talk to Master Wu?"

"I don't want to talk to anyone." I admitted. 

"Liv, something this serious requires help." Jay said.

"I don't need help. I need peace." I retorted, "Which is something you're not giving me right now, Jay. So please, leave me alone."

Jay's eyes dimmed with sorrow and he sighed, "Alright, Liv."

When he left, I bit down on my tongue and looked over at my phone screen. A notification popped up and I quickly went into my messages. It was Victor. Finally, he texted me "Sorry! Wi-Fi decided to bail. What's up?"

I sighed and then texted him "I have bad news…"

"Oh? What is it?" Victor asked almost immediately, sending the emoji that raised one eyebrow all the time. 

"I've got my dad's powers." I said and with that, I threw the phone across the room and buried my face into my bed. I told him. I told Victor. My best friend would… I don't know how he would react. I let out a sob and then screamed into a pillow. When I finally lifted my face, my pillow was stained with tears. I sniffled and rubbed at my nose, just when Uncle Wu came in.

"Liv. I thought I'd come check on you." Uncle Wu looked over at me and then my phone, "Uh. Why is your phone on the ground?" He picked it up and tsked, "The screen is cracked. I think you'd need a new one."

"I'm sorry." I sniffled, "I didn't do it on purpose. I-" I stopped when my voice cracked.

"It's okay, Liv." Uncle Wu wrapped his arms around me, "It's hard dealing with this. Are you sure that you don't want me to tell Lloyd or your mother? They're your family. They need to know."

"It's my issue." I said softly, "I'll tell them myself."

"Are you sure?..." Uncle Wu trailed off. 

"Yes." I nodded my head, "I'll do it myself."

"Alright." Uncle Wu nodded his head, "Just… be careful." He walked out of the room and I glanced down at my broken phone. If this was what I could accomplish while texting Victor the news, then what would I do if I physically had to tell my brother and my mother about my new powers?